Forget Summer Vacation

Paul College senior starts work in June

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Sarah Heath '18 at the UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.

Two months before commencement, Sarah Heath ’18 had three job offers. In June, two weeks after graduation, she’ll start full time as a marketing specialist with a Bedford, New Hampshire, real estate company.

"I feel Paul College has prepared me for my future," Heath says. “My goal was to find a full-time job that aligned with my major, so doing marketing right at the start of my career is wonderful, but long term, it offers growth and potential for me to work for myself down the road.”

Heath has been a volunteer at the Admissions Office for the past four years and, for the last two, has been on the student advisory board. She also works there part time as the group visit and “Shadow a Wildcat” coordinator.

“Five to 10 years from now, I could see me working for myself.”

The Rhode Island resident joined Sigma Alpha sorority as a freshman, was upper quad hall council president during her freshmen and sophomore years and volunteers with Wildcat Friends and Project Sunshine, a national program that supports patients at children’s hospitals. Heath also participated in the first-year service program, PrOVES, and the Sophomore Summit. This semester she has been a teaching assistant for the senior capstone marketing course.

“As a freshman, I was that over-involved student who signed up for all kinds of things,” Heath says. It’s her nature; before college, she played softball for 11 different teams during a span of 16 years, even playing on four different teams in one season. “When I find something I love, I’m in it 110 percent if not more. Passion drives me.”

And it will likely drive her future. At some point, Heath wants to work in brand marketing and help a company shape its identity. While she doesn’t have a specific industry in mind, she knows it is an area she wants to explore.

“Five to 10 years from now, I could see me working for myself,” Heath says. “One of the things I like about marketing is that it’s so broad but can be so specific at the same time. I like knowing the big picture. And I like to see different perspectives.”

When she first began her college search, UNH wasn’t even on her radar. Then, during an annual vacation in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, a family friend suggested she apply. Despite having already sent her deposit to DePaul University in Chicago, she came to Durham for a visit.

“I met with Paul professors, and that really sold me,” Heath says. “I knew we’d have to pull the deposit. My parents didn’t see that one coming.”